Chapter 229 - 0229

Lorelei POV

For the rest of the night, Kaelen refused to sleep beside me. No matter how many times I tried to reassure him, the guilt weighing on him was too deep.

In the end, he chose the couch instead, keeping himself within sight of me but far enough away to maintain what he considered a safe distance.

When I finally woke up the next morning, I went to the mirror and noticed that the dark purple bruises around my neck had already begun to fade. With my wolf finally surfacing, it seemed my body’s natural healing process had improved drastically.

On the surface, everything appeared normal that morning. Kaelen had slipped right back into his usual Alpha King persona, composed, sharp, and effortlessly commanding as he got dressed for the day. He mentioned having several urgent pack matters and High Council affairs to handle, and although his expression remained controlled, I could still sense the heaviness beneath it.

Before leaving the chambers, he leaned down and kissed me goodbye. It was slow and lingering, carrying a tenderness that felt like an apology he couldn’t quite bring himself to say out loud. Then he left.

The moment I was alone in his enormous room, my thoughts inevitably returned to everything we had discussed the night before, and the ache in my chest resurfaced.

Seeing Kaelen cry had genuinely broken something inside me. I couldn’t stop thinking about what he had endured as a child, how he had been isolated, betrayed by the people who were supposed to protect him, and robbed of any sense of safety or innocence before he was even old enough to understand what was happening to him.

It hurt in a way I couldn’t explain.

I wanted to help him so badly. I wanted to find a way to break that curse once and for all, to free him from the constant fear of losing control and becoming someone he could no longer recognize. He deserved to live without always wondering if the next episode would cost him the people he loved.

But what could I actually do?

I knew almost nothing about high dark magic. Compared to the witches who had already examined him and tried countless ways to remove the curse, I had practically nothing to offer.

My fingers drifted to the teardrop pendant hanging around my neck, the one Nala had given me. She had been very clear about using it only in a dire emergency. And honestly, Kaelen’s worsening condition felt like more than enough reason to consider this an emergency.

Still, the witches had already tried to help him before. If they hadn’t been able to lift the curse, what could I possibly do that they hadn’t?

I was still turning the thought over in my mind when I finally sat down for breakfast. I barely paid attention to the food in front of me, my fork moving absently through the plate as I continued searching for an answer.

Then, just as I was about to take another bite, an idea suddenly hit me.

If I couldn’t fix what happened to him in the past or magically get rid of his curse today, I could at least do something to make the present a little easier for him.

With that thought in mind, I stepped out of Kaelen’s chambers and found Paul and Isaac standing at their usual posts.

"I want to make dinner tonight," I announced, looking between them.

Both guards blinked at me before exchanging a brief, confused glance. Paul was the first to recover, though the cautious look on his face made it obvious he was already trying to figure out what had gone wrong.

"Why would you want to do that, my lady?" he asked. "If you don’t like the food, we can report it to the kitchen staff and have them fix whatever mistake they made immediately."

I waved a hand dismissively. "No, it’s not that. The food is perfectly fine. I just want to make dinner myself tonight. What? Do you think I can’t cook?"

I had spent years handling the kitchen back home. Making one special meal for Kaelen was hardly going to be a challenge.

"Ah, no! Of course not, my lady." Paul quickly raised both hands, looking mildly startled. "I’m just surprised, that’s all. But if you really want to cook, I’m sure we can arrange something with the head chef."

A bright smile spread across my face as I began mentally listing all the warm, rich, comforting meals I could prepare for Kaelen. Maybe if I couldn’t take away his pain, I could at least give him something good to look forward to tonight.

"Since dinner is still a few hours away," Isaac added in his usual calm tone, "the interior designer will be arriving early this afternoon."

My smile faded slightly as I looked at him. "Why? I thought the renovations for my chambers weren’t scheduled until Thursday."

"We thought so too, Miss," he replied smoothly. "But the Alpha King called them in at the last minute. He requested that they speed up the process so you could move into your own private chambers as soon as possible."

"Oh."

That was all I managed to say.

But inside, my heart sank.

Because I knew exactly why Kaelen was suddenly in such a hurry to have my rooms finished.

He was still afraid of what might happen if we shared a bed again. Still terrified that the monster inside him would take control and hurt me the way he had before. He thought putting distance between us was the only way to keep me safe.

And maybe it was.

But that didn’t make it hurt any less.

He was trying to protect me, yet he was still pushing me away, and I hated how much that stung.

All because of this stupid, stupid curse.

But that evening, just as I was helping Margot put the finishing touches on my newly decorated chambers, my phone buzzed inside the pocket of my dress.

I pulled it out, and the moment I saw the caller ID, my face lit up.

Raven.